The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

Dancers bring “Momentum” to campus

Vividly colored dresses move along with every dancers movement as bright lights stream across the dance-floor  in this year’s dance show titled, “Momentum.”

Pamela Santelman, dance instructor said each of the 10  dances all have a different look and set design.

“Every single dance has a set of different costumes and props,” Pam Santelman, dance instructor, said. “The lights are coordinated with what you will see with the dances.”

Kim DeShazo, costume designer said that included in the various dance themes are miracle dances where students will wear flowy dresses in green, pink and brown.

Another dance will include Grecian wear, all inspired by greek movies.

Attendees may also expect to see dancers in unitards, a costume that goes from the neck to the ankle.

Daniel Berney, dance concert director, said “Momentum” may be described as eclectic, a combination of various styles of dance and choreography.

“There will be a variety of dance styles such as ballet, modern dance, and street dance,” Berney said. “We have several students who do student choreography, which represents their own choreography.”

One dance that will be performed for the show is “Clue of Wonderland,”  choreographed by Chonee Palmer, 21, dance major.

“This piece was inspired by “Alice In Wonderland,” Palmer said. “This is where Alice gets caught in the game board and the villain, Clue, is caught in a caterpillar.”

For “Clue of Wonderland,” Anne Marin, lighting designer, said she already had an idea of what she would do to match the scenario.

“The beginning has the music that’s more of a Disney feel, so I will add some pastel with circular lights,” Marin said. “When the catepillar is dying, I will accumulate lightning flashes.”

Another dance included in the show is “Breathe,” choreographed by Samara Williams, 19, dance major.

“I choreographed “Breathe,” which was influenced by the “Garden of Eden” story,” Williams said.

She said “Breathe” starts out with the Tree of Life and dancers holding on to moments of happiness that flow out from the tree.

“You want to take little, single moments of happiness and hold on to them,” Williams said.

For this dance, Bryan Bates, theater technician, said he used a dead branch he found on campus.

“The choreographer told me she was going to hang some other things on it,” Bates said.

One dancer, Haley Weishaup, 18, undecided major, said this semester, everyone has come up with great ideas for their dances.

“Preparing for the show is a lot of fun and a lot of hard work,” Weishaup said. “You need full commitment.”

“Momentum” will be performed in the Marsee Auditorium today at 1 p.m. and April 27-28, at 8 p.m.

The dance department encourages students to attend.

Tickets for the performance will be sold in advance for $10 and $15 on the day of the show.

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